Wednesday, November 21, 2012

You know you're looking forward to an event when you go even though you feel a migraine coming on. And when you bring a chatty and bouncy child with you to said event, knowing that she'll love it just as much as you do. That's how I ended up at #ChiTAG on Saturday morning, and yes, I'm glad I went.

#ChiTAG is an annual event in Chicago filled with exhibits of toys and games suitable for the whole family from Moshi Monsters (I learned that Chop Chop is Little Miss's favorite one) to complex versions of chess and everything in between. There is also a young inventor's competition and entertainment throughout the weekend. It's open to the public, something few toy exhibitions are - and that makes this all the more fun. And yes, you can buy the toys and games there (many with show only discounts).

We attended a breakfast sponsored by Bananagrams before the show began, and Little Miss was fascinated by the different versions of Bananagrams games available. It didn't take long before we dug into the Appleletters game and started playing. We've since figured out that we were playing it slightly wrong, but we both had a blast. Brandie was also at our breakfast table, and I saw and heard how much her family enjoyed playing Fruitominoes with her family, too.

At the breakfast, we also heard from one of the Young Inventors Challenge Winners, as well as the Chicago Fire Department, which has their charitable calendar available for sale yet again this year. Much as we enjoyed the lunch, Little Miss and I were excited to go see the show once it opened. When we walked in the door and saw R2D2 right there, I'm pretty sure that made Little Miss's day.

We didn't make it to each and every booth, but we did our best. We learned how to play fun games - and I love the ones that are educational as well as fun - like Albert's Insomnia. This is a card game that uses math, something we need to do given that the wee ones are supposed to practice math facts for 10 minutes each and every night. I love that this game works with many different levels of math, as you can use simple addition or multiple factors to get to the necessary number (e.g., 10 could be 5+4+1 or 5*2 or (4+1)*2 - so long as you only use each card one time to get to the next number). It's simple but involved, and that works well for us.

Another of Little Miss's favorites was the Plasma Cars. One of our friends had one years ago, but apparently Little Miss forgot to to use it and was pushing herself along Flintstone style. Once I called her over and demonstrated how rocking the handle moved you forward, she was off. My silly girl managed to fall off it a couple times turning corners too quickly, but you don't go fast enough, nor is it high enough, to actually hurt if you fall. On the plus side, she figured out how to make the car go backwards, as well, which provided much enjoyment. I had to pry her away from the Plasma Cars eventually, knowing there was a long line of other interested kids and that we had much more to see.

We also learned how to play Top Trumps, a card game I'd heard of before but never played. It's another great turn taking game that is a more complex than a traditional game of War. I think it's pretty neat that there are so many different versions of Top Trumps so that any interest someone might have is included from the Moshi Monsters game we played to dinosaurs to the NFL and more. They offered a tournament on Sunday with all sorts of prizes (which we unfortunately couldn't attend), and on Saturday they attempted to break the Guinness record for most people playing a card game at one time. Girl Scouts who participated even earned a badge for it, which was pretty cool!

Our favorite booth hands down (pun intended), however, was the Speed Stacks cup stacking, something I'd seen on tv somewhere but never really realized was a toy to play at home, too. The US national champion took Little Miss under her wing and taught her the basics of cup stacking. It was amazing to see how quickly she progressed from needing the girl to literally hold Little Miss's wrists to steer her to stacking and unstacking the cups in well under 10 seconds.

She was so proud of herself. Coming home, she immediately pulled cups from our cabinet to start to teach Mister Man. And she demonstrated to my husband. Then she went to my parents and pulled cups from their cabinets, too. Needless to say, this is one game that we'll be playing often at home. In fact, I have a separate review of this coming soon. I can't wait for you to see her in action!

There were so many more booths than this, and we had so much fun talking to the vendors and learning about what they had to offer. I noticed Little Miss eyeing up various games and toys, determining what would end up on her Christmas wish list. I can only imagine what I'll find if I go check out her diary right now. Given the whispering she did with Mister Man once we got home, I think I know what to expect.

But me? I can't wait for next year. And if you're in or near Chicago, come. ChiTAG is open to the public, and there is so much to do and see, way more than I was able to summarize here.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received complimentary admission to ChiTAG, as well as a gift bag from sponsors. I was not compensated, nor was I asked to write this post. As always, all opinions expressed remain my own.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is almost here. Again. Already. Thanksgiving is when the flurry of activity and must.do.now. really takes off, but stopping to smell the roses - or the coffee - along the way makes for a far more pleasant journey.

Because Thanksgiving is always such a busy day - and there is so much food to eat and then eat again - I always go with a light breakfast that takes no preparation at all. This year, we're doing Starbucks Breakfast Blend coffee and blueberry muffins from the Bakery at Walmart. It doesn't get any easier than that, and it's pretty darn tasty, too. I'm not the only one who thinks so. WalMart actually has a Delicious Pairings display of this combo in its bakeries now.

Silly me, I need to give it a test run before the big day. Fortunately, I have a few like-minded friends who have no issues getting together to chat about Thanksgiving plans and how to make things a little easier. The fact that I offered up Starbucks coffee and blueberry muffins didn't hurt either.

Starbucks coffee does deserve its own special preparation, and my friend has the perfect coffee maker for it. It doesn't just "make coffee." It carefully presses and crafts the coffee.

This is a coffee maker that can grind its own beans, if needed. Starbucks has thoughtfully done that for us, so we just sat back and waited for our coffee. When the first cup was poured, one friend didn't believe it was hers. "I didn't ask for a latte," she explained. Apparently when you craft coffee, it looks different from how it does when you brew a pot. Who knew?

Yep, it really comes out looking like that. Coffee at my house isn't nearly so fancy. And regardless of where this coffee is made (or crafted), Starbucks Breakfast Blend is tasty. It's a medium blend, so not too strong, but there are hints of flavor.

Part of the reason I enjoy drinking good coffee like this is that it's one you savor. You don't simply gulp it down to get caffeine into your system. Proof?

Interestingly, we tried the coffee both without the muffins... and while eating the muffins. There is a reason for the pairing of the blueberry muffins with the Starbucks Breakfast blend. We all agreed that the coffee itself tastes fruitier with the pairing than it does on its own. We disagreed a little about the specific notes we felt (we would make great wine connoisseurs, wouldn't we?), but fruit was agreed. I could taste more the blueberry or blackberry notes, while another friend felt it was more like a sweet lemon hint. It's another great reminder of why pairing food with what we drink makes a difference.

Yes, my coffee cup is smaller. Some of us know we can only handle limited amounts of caffeine.

By the end of the morning, all my friends and I felt better about our Thanksgiving preparations. It didn't seem so daunting knowing that others had the same stress, yet year after year Thanksgiving dinner turns out just fine. Besides, I know what I'm serving for breakfast on Thanksgiving to make life just a little bit easier for me. And I have plenty of choices when it comes to the Bakery at WalMart, but I think I'll stick with the blueberry muffins. They really were #DeliciousPairings with the Breakfast Blend.

And the best part? I usually only buy my Starbucks at their retail stores, so I didn't know that there is a special bonus when I've finished with my pouch of coffee. I can bring in the empty bag and exchange it for a free coffee at Starbucks. Think I can finish it before Black Friday? You know I'll be doing my best, and my family will definitely help me out!

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™. As always, all opinions expressed remain my own. #CBias #SocialFabric

Monday, November 19, 2012

It's just before Thanksgiving, and I love seeing all the gratitude and positive vibes floating throughout the interwebs. Have you heard of Treat? I hadn't until this weekend, but I love it. Treat is a website where you can personalize cards easily and quickly, with or without photos, for just about any occasion.

You can change the font, size, and text anywhere there is writing, something few website allow you to do. There are cards available for thank yous to anniversaries to congratulations to birthdays and more. Creating the cards takes under five minutes, and they turn out beautifully.

If you create an account, all photos you upload will be saved indefinitely, with no limit on the number of photos. And you can purchase a "Treat Card Club" for discounted cards - as low as $1.99 apiece, personalized. It took me a bit, but I finally realized that purchasing the Treat Card Club means that I'm just committing to buying and making that many cards over the course of a year, not that there would be 18 identical cards.

And yes, you can mail directly to the recipient for $0.45 postage so if you're late on that message you want to get out, no worries. My favorite part? You can also include a code for a gift card so that your recipient can choose where to spend the card from amongst a number of merchants - or the recipient can choose to donate the gift card amount to one of a number of charities. I think I know what we're doing for all our relatives' birthdays now.

A feature I know my mom would love because she's organized like that? You can schedule when your card will be delivered. When finishing your card, you have the option to either have it arrive as soon as possible or select a date from the next mailing date to a year out from the current date. I no longer have an excuse for forgetting to send anyone a card.

But since it's Thanksgiving right now, Treat (which used to be Tiny Prints by the way) is offering one free card today and tomorrow Tuesday, November 20. Simply put in the code TREATBLOGR (you have to create an account to use the code), and your $3.49 card is now free.

So who will you send your card to? I created a card for Mister Man's third grade teacher who is just beyond awesome. She really gets him and is so patient with him that she deserves something special. When it arrives later this week, I know she'll get a kick out of it - and so will I for having sent it.

So quick. Go create your free personalized card today before this promotion is over. TREATBLOGR for a free Treat card!

In the interest of full disclosure, I will receive a credit to my Treat account for posting this. I received no other compensation, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

I love eBay. I remember when I first learned about it, back when I had dial up Internet, and I was fascinated by the things I have found. Over the years, I've found replacements for my cell phones that have died unexpectedly, brand new toys for the wee ones, jewelry, and more. And I've sold my fair share of items, too. I love that there is always a market for products, especially since I tend to be a bit fanatic about keeping things in good shape at my house!

eBay now has a mobile app, and I had never used it before today. It is easy to download from the eBay mobile site, whether you have an iPad, an iPhone, Windows, Blackberry, or Android device. Apps are available for free, regardless of which device you use regularly.

Once it's installed, you simply need to accept the terms and sign in. This is my only real annoyance with the app. The button you press to sign in is at the top of the popup box instead of below it, where I'm used to having it. It's possible I accidentally pressed "Create Account" or "Forgot?" more than once instead of the "Sign In" button at the top.

Once logged in, using the app is beyond easy. You can quickly set up your favorite items that you want to keep an eye out for (hello, lenses for my Sony A33 DSLR), as well as showing popular categories people search, which you can customize for yourself.

Today, I was all about selling. I have a Rothschild winter coat that is absolutely gorgeous. And it's unworn. In a size 4T. Little Miss refused to ever wear it for because it was too girly, and this $150 coat is sitting in my closet, mocking me every time I open that door. It needs to go to a new home where it will be properly appreciated.

Selling was easy. I pressed the "selling" box first, thinking that would automatically give me the option to list something, but that shares what items I already have for sale without a link to list an item (which would be a helpful feature in future releases). Oops. I figured out quickly that I needed to swipe the green button at the top, and a menu of options opened up, including "Sell an Item." From there, it was a piece of cake. I simply had to follow the prompts to add information about my listing.

If it is an item with a barcode, you can scan the item to populate the relevant information, which is pretty cool. Since I'm listing a coat, that didn't apply, but creating a title, determining the category of the item, adding photos and a description, and setting the pricing and payments was quick and simple. I liked that to take the photos, I simple had to press the photo box, and I was then able to either choose an image from my gallery or take a photo immediately and resize it as needed.

My biggest challenge was on shipping. You select what type(s) of shipping you're interested in from USPS parcel post to FedEx and everything in between. However, it doesn't calculate the shipping cost for you. I had to make my best guesstimate of what it will cost me to put the coat into a box and send it. The web version will calculate shipping for you, and I may go revise my listing to ensure I have an accurate price listed.

Once I had finished the information, I previewed the listing and then uploaded it. All in all, it took me under five minutes. If I had more experience with the mobile app, I can see it taking even less time. I liked being able to preview my listing and ensure that I had put all the information in correctly - and verified the type of charges I would (or wouldn't) have prior to submitting it.

The fees charged for the mobile app are the same as that for eBay usually - a listing like this is free for seven days, with a Buy It Now price and an auction listing, and up to 12 photos to make it more attractive. I will pay 9% of the total amount of the sale once the item has sold, but my first 50 items listed each calendar month are free. Exceptions are for "value add" items like subtitles ($0.50) or scheduling the listings ($0.10) or reserve price ($2) and the like.

Other things that I like about the mobile app are the ease to check on what I'm selling to see where the bidding it and whether or not there are any questions for me to answer. It's also easy to revise my listing if I realize that I want to add anything (like confirmation that I will ship the item quickly and how I work with any disputes/questions over the item once it's sold). On the flip side, it's pretty neat, too. I can easily watch items, put out alerts, have favorite categories of items that I choose, and - most importantly - have notifications pushed to me on any or all of these so that I can take action as necessary.

Monday, November 12, 2012

I'm not a huge fast food fan, but it has its place. There are days when I don't have time to cook dinner or when I just have a craving for some comfort food. McDonalds is the easy choice, not just because they're everywhere but because I know what the wee ones can and cannot eat with our dietary restrictions (although I'm still waiting for buns to have no HFCS - they don't need to be sweet!).

McDonalds isn't the restaurant with five items served in styrofoam containers (remember those?) that it was when I was a kid. While it still has the staples of "Big Mac, Fillet o' Fish, Quarter Pounder, French Fries" and more from then, the menu has expanded exponentially with everything from cafe coffees to smoothies and wraps. The newest entry is the Cheddar Bacon Onion sandwich, which comes in both chicken (grilled or fried) and burger varieties.

The 1/3 pound Angus burger (or fried chicken breast strips or grilled chicken) is served on a premium bakery bun with caramelized onions, white (pasteurized processed) cheddar cheese, and hickory smoked bacon. Not advertised is a creamy sauce that I think was a dijon and mayonnaise based sauce. There is no pickle, ketchup or mustard to sully this sandwich.

For $4.39 in my market - as opposed to the $1 McDouble - I would expect something more than a typical fast food burger, and this is not your everyday burger. When I brought it home, I actually put it on a plate, something I've never done with anything from a fast food restaurant before.

I will admit that I was somewhat taken aback when I saw the menu board and noticed that calories are now included. The CBO burger contains 790 calories, well over half my daily amount. The grilled chicken checks in at a much lower 480 calories, and the crispy chicken option has 630 calories. We won't talk about sodium or fat content because that will simply depress me. Obviously, this is a treat item, not something to eat every day.

That said, I tucked into my burger when I arrived home, and I was pleasantly surprised with the taste of the burger. It was a good flavor combination, and I absolutely adored the fact that a fast food restaurant offered caramelized onions. It's one of my favorite treats, and I don't get them often enough. The next time I order one, I will probably ask for the sauce to be left off. I'm not a big creamy sauce person to begin with, and it detracted from the sandwich for me.

This was also the first fast food burger I couldn't finish. I didn't order fries or a drink or anything else. The sandwich alone is big enough and has so many different flavors and textures to it that it truly filled me up. I could easily eat just half this burger and be content.

It is juicy. It has a cheese that isn't standard American, and the onions were divine. I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't been quite so careful, I would have had grease dripping down my chin as I took bite after delicious bite. The burger was surprisingly good, which again is something I would expect at that price point. I know it isn't the most healthy, but it fulfills a need, and I go to McDonalds with my eyes wide open. And an empty stomach.

So are you ready to try one of these new creations?

I have five of these coupons that expire December 31, 2012 to give away to one lucky winner who will enjoy some lunches on McDonalds! Are you ready to try them? First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count!

This contest is open until Monday November 26 at 7pm CST. I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 24 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):
1) Earn one additional entry for following me on Twitter, then tweeting this contest with the following tweet: Holidays are coming. Try the new Cheddar Bacon Onion from @McDonalds with a giveaway from @HonestAndTruly http://bit.ly/Tvw4qZ (leave a link to your tweet as your comment and make sure you do all the steps!)
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.
4) Earn one additional entry by liking Honest & Truly! on Facebook. (Yay, it's legal again, so long as you know you have to leave a comment here to enter and that simply liking me isn't the entry, along with acknowledging the fact that Facebook has nothing to do with this giveaway whatsoever.
5) Earn an additional entry by putting me in your Google Plus circle. Am I already in your G+ circle? No problem - just leave a comment letting me know that you've added me or already have me there.

Good luck!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received coupons to try the McDonalds new cheddar bacon onion sandwich. I am sharing my coupons with readers. I received no other compensation. As always, all opinions expressed remain my own.

Friday, November 9, 2012

I love Shutterfly, and I know I'm not alone. Part of what they love is that they offer helpful experiences outside their product line, whether supporting schools and making classroom management and communication easy with their Share Sites or now with their free Thank the Troops campaign.

Just in time for Veteran's Day (Sunday, November 11), Shutterfly has launched a Facebook app that allows you to select one of four thank you cards and personalize it with your own message or photo. Shutterfly will then print each card and ship it to troops. There are over 1.5 million troops stationed overseas right now, and they aren't with their friends and family over the holiday season, nor do they often get the thanks and appreciation they deserve.

Shutterfly's goal is to get a card printed and shipped (at no cost to you!) to every one of the heroes, so that's a lot of cards to make. Please consider creating a card and sharing your support with a serviceman (or woman). And once you've finished, you have the option to share the initiative with your friends to encourage them to create a card, as well.

We don't often do much to celebrate Veteran's Day. It gets lost in the shuffle, with just one more federal holiday - and the wee ones don't "even" get it off school - but this is a great way to honor the intention of Veteran's Day and to thank those who are serving us today. I am planning to create cards with the wee ones, as it's such an easy and age appropriate way of contributing.

So go. Spread your thanks and goodwill, and this year... celebrate Veteran's Day. Which one will you choose?

In the interest of full disclosure, I will receive a discount code from Shutterfly as part of this campaign. As always, all opinions expressed remain my own.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

I'm not celebrating Christmas early. I feel like I've given that disclaimer a lot lately. Instead, I'm getting my preparations started, and I'm sharing my information now so you can enjoy some of the fun I'm discovering, as well. Another item I discovered for Christmas this year that I absolutely fell in love with is Your Santa Story. Santa is magic, and this is proof!

Your Santa Story is a new service that helps keep the magic alive. And in our house, we are going to start to need to do all we can to keep the magic alive. We attend public school, and Mister Man is in third grade this year... and Little Miss has some friends in second grade with plenty of older siblings. I can't wait for them to watch our DVD Christmas morning.

What is it? It's a personalized Santa story for your family and your family alone. For that reason, there are limited quantities available, as Santa has to video each on individually. The DVDs are then FedExed to your house to ensure you have them in plenty of time before the big morning. The DVDs are easy to make by answering a few questions online, and the script read by Santa is a perfect fit for your family, from names of your pets to a special message for each child from Santa.

I love that there are so many neat touches included to make it even more real. I love that Santa can create a DVD specifically for families with members in the military or ASL or Spanish-speaking. And for those serving in the military away from home? A second version of the DVD will be emailed to the loved on serving so they can experience the magic, too. Because Little Miss is in a Spanish immersion program, we chose to have our DVD include Spanish language in Santa's message to her - and it was amazing, a little more scripted and less natural sounding, but amazing nonetheless.

The questions on the form to personalize the DVD are easy to answer and straightforward. There is a maximum of five children, and I know a few families with more than six. I would love to see that increased just a little. I appreciate that when filling in names, you are asked to provide the pronunciation of the names to ensure everything is right - another of those touches I was mentioning. Santa also directs a short message to each child. For us, he congratulated Mister Man on his tae kwon do promotion and noted that he was in a new school this year. Little Miss's message includes a comment about her hard work at gymnastics and her Halloween costume - because Santa knows these things!

Santa of course knows about our pets - and you can specify what they are, so anyone who has a hermit crab isn't stuck with no option to choose. Again, the limit is five pets, but most people have no more than five. I hope. You also clarify you family's traditions - do you leave food for Santa or his reindeer? If so, what is it? And of course, you specify where the last gift will be left for your kids to go hunting once the DVD ends - another magical surprise.

Once you've completed these few fields, you have the opportunity to review the script for your DVD to ensure that what you wrote makes sense and flows properly. If there are any corrections (I had to make a couple), it's easy to go back and edit the fields. Each DVD is $29.95, and shipping is a flat rate of $5.95.

When our package arrived, it included not just the DVD but Santa's sleigh license (a super cute touch) and a brochure with cut out cards including three different scenarios.

I will admit that it took me a moment to figure out the scenarios. As part of the DVD creation, you choose where the last present will be located for your kids to find after they've watched the DVD (ours will be under our bed, for example), and I initially thought that was what these scenarios referred to. It finally dawned on me that these cards are to let children know that there is a DVD waiting for them, not that this referred to the last present's hiding place. I am planning to cut out the thank you for the cookies note to place on the empty cookie plate and put our DVD in the mailbox.

As Santa suggested, we did watch our DVD. We have an amazing Santa, and his Spanish was impeccable. His beard was real, he looked like Santa, and it was a "real" set, not some screen. The video is just over three minutes long, and the first minute or so is a generic introduction of Santa's life - the barn with the reindeer and Santa petting them and so forth. That part was a little slow for me, but I know the wee ones will be fascinated. The rest of it with our personal message? It was beyond cool. I almost want to show the wee ones the video now, but I can't spoil the surprise. How am I going to wait another almost two months?

Tell me this isn't one of the coolest things ever? Once it's over, we'll be putting the DVD into a memory box so we can pull it out in years to come. And next year? We were told that the same Santa(s) will be there and that families will receive the same Santa next year to ensure continuity. Brilliant, no?

I know you want one. If you celebrate Christmas, how can you not? I will admit that I would have added my husband as one of my "kids" and had a special message to him (and maybe me) had I thought of it. That would only add to the fun, right? So guess what. I have one code for a free Your Santa Story DVD to give away. Remember, there are a limited quantity of DVDs that can be made this year, so if you win, get yours made quickly so you don't miss out! And if you don't win? Order soon! This is one surprise that definitely won't work if you procrastinate.

So, are you ready to try to win one? First of all, let me stress that you must follow all the rules. If you do not follow the rules, your entry will not count!

This contest is open until Thursday November 22 at 7pm CST (yikes, that's Thanksgiving!). I must have a valid way to reach you, so leave me your email address in your comment or be sure your profile has your email address visible. No duplicate comments will count. This giveaway is open to US residents age 18 and older. Winners will be selected via random.org and must respond within 24 hours of being notified by me or I will select a new winner.

Mandatory Entry: Tell me - what is your favorite Santa tradition?

Bonus Entries (leave a comment for each entry - if you put it all in one comment, I'll count it as one entry):
1) Earn one additional entry for following me on Twitter, then tweeting this contest with the following tweet: Make the magic of Santa come alive with a personalized DVD giveaway from @YourSantaStory and @HonestAndTruly. http://bit.ly/Uyy8xd (leave a link to your tweet as your comment and make sure you do all the steps!)
2) Earn one additional entry by following this review blog publicly via Google Friend Connect.
3) Earn one additional entry by following my “regular” blog Honest & Truly! publicly via Google Friend Connect.
4) Earn one additional entry by liking Honest & Truly! on Facebook. (Yay, it's legal again, so long as you know you have to leave a comment here to enter and that simply liking me isn't the entry, along with acknowledging the fact that Facebook has nothing to do with this giveaway whatsoever.
5) Earn an additional entry by putting me in your Google Plus circle. Am I already in your G+ circle? No problem - just leave a comment letting me know that you've added me or already have me there.
Good luck!

In the interest of full disclosure, I was provided with a Your Santa Story DVD personalized to my family to facilitate this review. I received no other compensation, and all opinions are my own.